Bleach: Choetsu
by AnimeVeteran
Summary: Set hundreds of years after the Bleach canon, this story follows the journey of my OC, Matsuo Taiki, the new Lieutenant of Squad Three as he investigates unusual spiritual activity and a new enemy that threatens the World of the Living and Soul Society.
1. Episode 1 - Soul Seeker

Episode 1 – Soul Seeker

A young man walked alone down a sidewalk in an urban part of America. Houses in the casual neighborhood were dark in the bleak hours of the night. The moon was just coming out of a new moon cycle, a crescent barely visible in the clear sky above. The stars were vibrant, although the streetlights along the sidewalks made it difficult to see all of them. Knowing this, the man just kept strolling, not minding the cosmos in its peaceful clarity above him. A cool breeze rustled the leaves on some small, newly planted trees lining the road, which stretched and wound with hundreds of homes on either side. Each tap of the man's feet echoed slightly into the night, with not a soul to hear.

Well, not exactly none, it would seem.

In the shadows of the many homes around him, a creature lurked – a being that could be called a demon if anyone could see it. Its eyes burned a deep red, with a bloodlust that seemed to make them glow behind a bone white mask. The creature's body was a shadowy contrast to its own visage, towering over any average person. It had sharp fangs that glistened with saliva, as it followed the scent it had been tracking for days, hungrily slinking after its prey. Though its claws left huge slices in the ground, it made no sound at all as it stalked the young man walking in the dark of night.

"I've waited… long enough," it thought. Leaping over the tops of the houses it had been hiding behind, it landed with a slight resultant breeze, directly behind its unsuspecting target. The invisible shadow it cast over its victim was nearly as pitch black as the sky above, save for one round spot of light where a streetlight shone through a gaping hole in the beast's chest. It was sure of its victory. There was no way any human could ever sense its presence.

However, just as it touched down, the man froze in place. The creature behind him froze as well, not moving an inch.

"Did he hear me?" it thought. "Impossible… I was completely silent! There's no way he could have known… sheer coincidence." With this self-consolation, it slowly lowered its head to take a bite of its fresh, new meal…

And then the man collapsed.

Just fell over, smack dab, flat onto the pavement. The beast stood there, bewildered.

"What the…? What's with this guy? Is this really the person who smelled so appetizing?" it wondered to itself.

That's when it noticed. It sniffed the air once, twice. The scent was gone, completely vanished from where it had been a moment before. He leaned in to inspect the body that lay in front of it, when suddenly it moved, twitching slightly. Then it rolled onto its back, an annoyed look on its face.

"Aw, man!" the young man muttered to himself. "I hate it when he does this to me out of the blue!"

"He's alive," thought the creature. "But he's acting so diff—"

"Hey! Tall, pale and gruesome!" the man spat.

"Is he… is he talking to me?" the beast wondered, stunned.

"Hey! I'm talking to you! Filthy, stinking Hollow – hey, Matsuo!" he yelled abruptly into the air. "Finish this one off already, will ya? You know I don't like it when I have to sit in your body while you have all the fun!"

"What?!" the beast thought. It sniffed the air again, and realized the scent he had been following hadn't vanished, but moved… right above the creature itself.

It looked straight up into the sky, searching for where the scent's origin was. But it couldn't see a thing.

"Yo!" another voice called out.

The beast spun around to see the same man that was lying at its feet, standing on top of a lamppost directly behind him. He was different, though, with an entirely different outfit. Instead of the casual clothes worn by the body on the ground, this man wore a black, uniform-like shihakusho with a gold obi sash around his waist. Another gold ribbon of cloth was strung diagonally across his chest and over his shoulder, where it held a katana, whose golden hilt pointed upwards. The man stood on one foot, perfectly balanced on the very top of the lamppost with no trouble at all. He looked as though he were lighter than air, wearing a casual grin on his face as he brushed his golden blonde hair out of his bright blue eyes.

"No wonder you smelled so good." The creature, known as a Hollow, snarled. "I should have known it was a Shinigami all along!"

"You know," the man named Matsuo said, completely disregarding the Hollow's remark, "I don't like it when things like you follow me around in the middle of the night. Makes me nervous." As he said this, he reached behind his back and gently grasped the hilt of the katana.

"Oh, no you don't!" the Hollow howled, springing toward Matsuo with claws outstretched and fangs borne. It moved so fast that no man could possibly react in time.

But just as it was about to slice open its target, Matsuo vanished into thin air. Not a trace of him was left where he stood. The Hollow stopped short.

"Wha… Where'd he go?!" It looked around desperately. As it searched for its adversary, a faint glint caught its eye not far below its face. Looking down, it saw the tip of a katana blade sticking out of the hole in its chest. The Hollow froze with fear.

"I never did like this job," Matsuo's voice muttered directly behind the Hollow. "You Hollows are always too violent. Always causing an uproar and threatening innocent souls."

"You…YOU BAST—"

The katana sliced straight up, cutting through the Hollow's chest and right up the middle of its mask. The Hollow dissolved into nothingness, blood spraying from the cut; however, not even a speck remained anywhere on the sidewalk after the creature's disappearance. Matsuo sheathed his sword with a clack.

"And always so foul-mouthed," he muttered.

He glanced across the street. "Alright, you can come out now!" he called. A small boy, hidden behind a lamppost directly across from Matsuo, peeked out. He looked around nervously, gradually emerging from his hiding place.

"Don't worry. That one won't be coming back anytime soon," Matsuo assured the boy, walking across the street to meet him beneath the streetlight. A small section of chain hung from the middle of the boy's chest, breaking off a few links down. Rattling slightly as he took a few timid steps forward, it shone silver in the light of the lamppost.

"Is… is it… are you sure it's gone, mister?" the boy murmured.

"I'm sure," Matsuo said, smiling gently. He kneeled down to the boy's height and gave him a reassuring pat on the head, rustling his short hair. "But unless you want to run into another one of those things, you need to let me help you."

With these words, Matsuo reached for his sword. Frightened, the boy took a sudden step backwards.

"Oh, hey, don't worry!" Matsuo said with a grin. "I'm not going to take it out. I'm just going to give you a little tap on the forehead, so you can pass on."

"Pass on? Wh… where will I go?" the boy asked.

"It's a place called Soul Society," Matsuo explained. "It's a safe place where lots of people live. You'll be happy there, I promise." He slowly moved the butt of his sword toward the boy's forehead.

"Wait!" the boy squeaked.

Matsuo hesitated. "What is it?" he inquired calmly.

"Mister, what's your name?"

The Shinigami gave a slight chuckle. "Matsuo Taiki," he said with a smile. He lowered his katana and offered the boy his hand. "What about you?"

"Michael." The boy smiled. "Michael Sanders!" He reached out and warmly shook Matsuo's hand.

"Well, Michael, I'll tell you what," said Matsuo. "If you let me send you on your way, I'll come and find you, and we can play together sometime. Alright?"

"Sure!" Michael said, grinning. He stood up as tall as he could, bracing for what was to come.

Matsuo laughed softly to himself at seeing such a little boy acting so brave.

"You're a tough one, kid."

With that, he gently touched the butt of his sword to Michael's forehead. A small symbol appeared there, beginning to shine with a brilliant white-blue light. Michael's expression became peaceful, and he slowly melted away. When he had completely vanished, a small black butterfly with red-tipped wings appeared in his place and flew off into the night sky. Matsuo looked on after it with satisfaction.

"Hey, man! Come on! How much slower could you be?" came an impatient shout from across the street.

Matsuo's head dropped as the pleasantness of the moment shattered.

"I mean, for Pete's sake, do you have to make it such a personal endeavor whenever you perform a Konso?" said Matsuo's body as it walked over to him. "Stuff like that makes me sick – not to mention being in this body of yours!"

"Good lord, Koto!" Matsuo retorted. "You have to be one of the most selfish Mod Souls I've ever worked with!"

"Yeah, yeah, how many times have you used that one?" Koto snapped back. "Unless there's another Hollow nearby that needs killing, will you just get back in your Gigai? I think I'm getting a headache just from being here in this—"

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Matsuo sighed. "Keep up this attitude and I may have to trade you in for someone else."

"Yeah, right. You know you couldn't get by without me!" said Koto with a smirk.

Matsuo walked up behind his body, stepping right into it through the back. After regaining control over it, he coughed up a small green pill and put it into his pocket.

"Lucky for you, that's all we need to take care of… for now," Matsuo muttered. He took out a cell phone, flipped it open, and gave it a quick look over. Not finding anything of interest, he closed it, pocketed it, and returned to the sidewalk to continue his midnight stroll.

"Strange," he thought. "I could have sworn I was called here to kill more than just those few… Looks like I may have some tracking to do tomorrow."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, a lone figure sat on the rooftop of a nearby house. He wore sound cancelling headphones over his ears, loud music just audible from a short distance away. He bobbed his head and tapped his foot to the rhythm, occasionally swiping a hand downward during a shift in the song. Even with all of his movement, he was quiet. The faint moonlight reflected off of his glasses as he adjusted them on his nose.<p>

Standing up, he looked on as Matsuo strolled down the sidewalk. Grinning, the figure lowered the headphones off of his ears. Electronic music blasted from either ear cover as he pulled an MP3 player from his pocket to put it on pause.

"I knew that song would suit his fight," he said to himself, his tone hushed. "Too bad it happened so quickly though… I didn't even get to the second drop in the song yet."

With that, he hopped down from the roof of the two-story house he had been perched on. As he landed, a small, silver cross pendant on a chain swung out from his sleeve and down past his hand. A blue stone in the center shone with the mark of infinity in the light of the street lamp.

"Now… what song should I listen to for the walk home?" he mumbled as he looked through his music player. He skipped forward a couple of times, then raised his eyebrows in satisfaction at a song he'd found. He shifted his headphones back onto his ears and pressed play. A new tune reverberated in his ears, and he resumed nodding his head to the beat as he walked in the opposite direction of Matsuo. The pendant around his wrist swung in time, shimmering as he strolled off into the night.

"A new Shinigami. Should be fun," he said to himself.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Matsuo!" You up to much this afternoon? I got a sweet new multiplayer game we can try out!"<p>

"Maybe later, I'm swamped by this paper I need to write."

"Oh, yeah, that would do it. Later, man!"

Matsuo waved goodbye to his classmate. Posing as an eighteen year old student at a college campus wasn't the easiest thing to pull off, especially when you had to do the schoolwork too, merely for the sake of blending in.

Matsuo Taiki. Apparent age 18 years old. Blonde hair, blue eyes, five feet eleven inches tall. He wasn't the strongest looking person around, but he certainly wasn't weak, either. Smart, but not the smartest; a college student like almost anyone else his age. Except, of course, for one crucial difference.

Matsuo was stationed in America to keep an eye on the steadily rising Hollow population, as well as keep tabs on the rising number of spiritual events occurring in the town of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Such were the duties of a god of death, or Shinigami. Matsuo had been sent by the Thirteen Court Guard Squads from Soul Society as one of their primary choices to handle such cases; he was the lieutenant of Squad Three under Izuru Kira, who had eventually taken over as captain of the squad after Roujuurou Outoribashi. Matsuo didn't really feel the title of vice-captain suited him, but he accepted at the insistence of his superiors and supporters. After all, even though he appeared to be eighteen, he was probably over three hundred years old, not counting his life as a human beforehand!

Once he had gained his title, he had almost immediately been sent back to America to investigate some concerning issues. He was more than happy to accept the assignment. The investigation would be ongoing, and until he could deduce the rightful cause of such spikes in spiritual activity, he wouldn't be returning to Soul Society. And that was just fine with him.

For now, he had little to worry about. There hadn't been much activity as far as he could tell, and he was itching to get back to his dorm and relax a bit. Unfortunately, the place was on the other side of campus, making the walk to and from classes quite the trek. The weather was on his side, though. After taking a breath of fresh air into his lungs, he gave a lighthearted sigh and strolled down the campus sidewalks. It was quaint little pleasures like this that he cherished: peaceful moments accompanied by pleasant scenery. It would be autumn soon. The first college semester and only just started and his teachers were already loading him with homework.

About half the way to his dorm, Matsuo was scanning his surroundings, his gaze resting on the nearby wooded area in particular. He had always loved wandering through the wilderness when he was younger, and he still found it refreshing every so often. But today wasn't a day for frolicking in the woods.

Then, as he glanced toward the trees, something caught his eye. Something was moving through the woods. He couldn't quite make it out, and it gave him pause as he tried to distinguish what it was.

"Well," he thought, "better check and make sure it isn't some soul in distress."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small green pill: Koto. He popped it into his mouth and swallowed. With a flash his spirit flew from his body, dressed in Shinigami uniform with his sword upon his back. His body remained standing, although its facial expression changed to one of annoyance.

"Oh, come on… again?!" Koto complained.

"Just relax. I'm going to check this out really quick. You just have to make sure I get back to my dorm. There're some fresh apples in the mini fridge if you want them."

Koto brightened a little at that. Anything sweet could usually entice him, but fresh fruits were among his favorites.

He shrugged. "I guess I can let it slide this time… just don't take too long, or else I'll leave your body somewhere you'll never find it!"

"You know you can't leave a body without my help." Matsuo smiled to himself.

"Yeah, yeah – get moving," Koto said as he walked away.

With barely a tap of his foot, Matsuo flew through the trees. He glided between the trunks as if he'd known how to navigate them his whole life. Even the branches were hardly disturbed as he rushed past. After this first long bound, he lighted down on a branch of a particularly tall oak, glancing below him to try and catch any sign of activity.

Then he saw it – a hint of movement off to his left. He flew straight towards it, being careful to land quietly, lest he scare the thing off or bring attention to himself.

There in front of him was a young girl that couldn't have been older than ten. She stood there, still as could be, with pure white clothes and light brown hair. She hadn't noticed Matsuo behind her yet.

"Little girl…" he said calmly, "…are you all right?"

The girl turned to him slowly. She was definitely a lost soul: the chain that connected the soul to the body was broken. But the way she looked back at Matsuo made him uneasy. She had a bleak stare, her eyes dull and shady, and her face was completely blank.

"Yes, sir," she said in a weak voice. "I'm all right."

A sudden blast of spiritual pressure froze Matsuo where he stood. The force was far too great for him not to have sensed it earlier. He looked up to see rifts in space materializing above him. As they each opened, white masks emerged from the dark voids – Hollows. At least thirty had appeared above where Matsuo stood.

"What?!" thought Matsuo. "There's no way such a small soul could bring together such a massive number of Hollows... Are they after me?"

He sprinted forward, wrapping the girl in his arms, and took off deeper into the woods. He kept going until he came upon a small clearing. Rushing to the farthest edge, he set the girl down as gently as possible.

"Stay here and keep out of sight," Matsuo instructed her. She just nodded slightly in response.

"Poor girl," thought Matsuo. "She must be in shock… I'll have to tend to her as soon as I can."

Turning around, Matsuo drew his sword from his back. He stood at the ready as the onslaught of Hollows charged toward him, maws wide open, claws outstretched, emitting howls of rage. Matsuo brought his sword behind him, taking a low stance, and muttered:

"Darken heaven…"

END EPISODE 1

**おわり**


	2. Episode 2 - Enter the Eclipse

Episode 2 – Enter the Eclipse

Surrounded by around thirty Hollows, Matsuo drew his katana, bringing it behind himself and taking a low stance. Behind him stood the spirit of a young girl, whom Matsuo decided he had to protect at all costs. He wasn't sure why such a number of Hollows had gathered for just this one soul, but it wasn't the time to be going over reasons. As the Hollows rushed towards him, he readied himself to fight back.

"_Darken heaven_…"

Three Hollows charged forward with surprising vigor, driven on by the feast before them. Anticipating this, Matsuo braced for a strike—

Suddenly, three bolts of energy blasted straight down through the heads of the oncoming Hollows. They fell before Matsuo, evaporating almost instantaneously. The other beasts froze, some falling back into the woods out of sheer surprise.

Matsuo looked up, having difficulty distinguishing anything in the blinding sunlight. All he could make out was a faint glimmer…

And then there was movement directly in front of him. Blinking from the difference in lighting, Matsuo stared ahead, where someone stood at the center of the field. He wore light grey pants, a blue tunic lined with silver, and a small silver cross pendant around his wrist. But what truly drew Matsuo's attention were the large, round spectacles this man wore over his eyes, and the thick over-ear headphones on his head. He looked rather ridiculous in such garb, and the way he was standing didn't help. He stood completely still as though poised for something unknown, his hand raised in the air. He bit his lower lip, as if apprehensive for some reason.

"Who…who are—" Matsuo began, but the man lifted a hand, pointing a finger straight up in a quieting gesture. Matsuo's brow creased in confusion. Even the little girl peeked out from behind him to have a look at this strange man. Despite the oddity of the moment, something caught Matsuo's eye: a silver shimmer from the man's arm. On either of his forearms were small, crossbow-like weapons.

The man inhaled slowly through his teeth, taking a good ten seconds. Then…

"_Pow!_" he shouted, bringing his raised hand straight down. After that, he began hopping around, his head bobbing to some unheard rhythm. His pace kept shifting, as though the beat he was moving to was inconsistent; and the whole time, he was humming to himself, in addition to making other sounds.

Matsuo couldn't make head or tail of it – and the Hollows seemed equally clueless…

And then Matsuo realized why the Hollows were so apprehensive about attacking again. This person had taken out three Hollows, but moreover, they had completely vanished after being struck. Only one kind of warrior was capable of such feats.

"So you're a Quincy," Matsuo called out to the man.

"In!...The!...Flesh!" he replied in rapid but solid succession.

Matsuo was surprised his voice could be heard over the music playing in the newcomer's ears. A few moments later, the Quincy took out his music player and paused it. He ceased his hopping and bobbing, and lifted the goggles off of his eyes.

"I love the drop in that sound!" he exclaimed with a grin. "And the progression – genius!"

Matsuo had kept his sword drawn up until now; he lowered it to his side and stood up straight.

"So are you the one who brought all of these Hollows together? What do you have against the Shinigami?"

"Whoa, whoa, pal, slow down!" the Quincy said, raising his hands innocently. "One question at a time! What's more, I have no reason to answer to you. I don't even know who you are."

"Then let's get introductions out of the way." Matsuo grinned. "I'm Matsuo Taiki, Lieutenant of Squad Three of the Gotei Thirteen Court Guard Squads."

"Quite the title. I'm Yamashita Junichiro…Quincy in training."

"Alright if I call you Yama for short? I'm not good with long names," Matsuo said sarcastically.

"Eh, what the hell, why not?" Yamashita shrugged. "We're practically brothers-in-arms anyway. Although I have to say, I'm not impressed with what I've seen so far."

"So far? I haven't even gotten started fighting." Matsuo took a few steps forward. "You haven't seen _anything _yet."

"As a matter of fact, I _have _seen what you can do," said Yama with a smirk. "I've tailed you for quite some time now, and you seem to handle the small fry decently enough. It was just coincidence that I happened to find you here. Now I'll be able to see the full extent of your ability!"

"So it's a competition, then?" asked Matsuo as he walked further toward the center of the field. "What do you say… first to kill half the Hollows wins?"

"Well, I wouldn't say it's entirely _even_…" Yama pondered aloud. Glancing around, he set his sights on a Hollow that had been bold enough to try and sneak towards them as they chatted. Yama drove his fist straight toward the Hollow, shooting a bolt of blue spiritual energy from the small crossbow on his forearm. It hit the beast squarely in the forehead, and it evaporated instantly.

"_Now _it's even." Yama smiled with satisfaction.

"Well then – shall we get started? I doubt these Hollows will want to sit around and humor us much longer," Matsuo said, raising his sword in preparation for battle. Indeed, the creatures had become restless after the last Hollow's execution.

"Alright, I just need to find the right song to fight to," said Yama, and he started to browse through his player. "Feel free to prep any way you see fit. I mean, I'm not holding back – and you certainly shouldn't."

"Wasn't planning on it," Matsuo said. "In fact, you sort of interrupted me back there…"

"Well, make it quick, because here they come!" said Yama, turning his back to Matsuo as the Hollows began to advance out of the cover of the trees.

Matsuo resumed the stance he'd taken before, with the sword behind him.

"_Darken heaven…_"

As he spoke, he released his left hand from the hilt of the sword and brought it to his right. The katana blade glowed golden, and evaporated into rays of light that rapidly circled behind Matsuo, creating a large disk behind him. With a bright flash of gold reiatsu, he raised a huge windmill shuriken above his head, casting a cross-shaped shadow over Yama in front of him. The reiatsu then condensed to form a golden chain that connected to the center handle of the shuriken, wrapping around Matsuo's bare right arm. The chain flowed to his left hand, where a black kunai knife formed.

"_Nisshoku!_" Matsuo said with a smile.

Yama turned to eye the new weapon with interest. "So you know the name of your Zanpakuto," he noted. "Haven't seen too many Shinigami capable of that." Then he pressed play on his music player. With the resounding first beat of the song, he rushed towards the oncoming Hollows. Matsuo followed suit, hurling the shuriken straight in front of him.

"_Taiyou en!" _he called out. Immediately, the shuriken's blades glowed with golden reiatsu as it spun with increasing speed; it sliced right through three Hollows, the beasts behind them dodging instantly. Matsuo pulled back on the chain, and the blades of the shuriken folded as it flew back to his open hand.

Meanwhile, Yama was strafing in and out of the Hollows, punching in sync with the music in his ears. When quicker beats played, he threw his fists faster, firing bolts of reishi from the bows on his forearms.

"One! Two! One, two!" he counted aloud with the music. He struck four Hollows, three in the head and one in the chest. The first three dissolved, but the fourth dashed off into the greater swarm of beasts. Reaching a safe distance from the horde and a build in his song, Yama paused and materialized a large longbow and arrow made entirely of deep blue reishi from around the cross pendant on his wrist. He drew back his bolt, but hesitated. Hollows rushed at him, but he remained fixed, his round goggle glasses shining blue as he trained his sights.

Just as a Hollow was about to reach him, he reached the drop in his song, and promptly fired the bolt he'd been holding. It pierced through four white masks in a row before dissipating, along with the Hollows themselves.

Yama glanced over to see Matsuo taking his folded shuriken and spinning it rapidly above his head. Nearby Hollows hung back warily as the weapon, glowing golden, whirled around. With one large sweep, Matsuo swung the shuriken out in a wide semicircle that cut through the torsos of six Hollows; as it finished its pass around, Matsuo leapt forward and sliced his kunai through each of the Hollows' masks. All six dissolved, and Matsuo ran towards a seventh. He kicked off its mask and back-flipped away from the swarm while pulling the folded shuriken back into his hand. He landed a few feet from Yama, and glanced over at him with a grin.

"How many have you gotten so far?" Matsuo asked.

"Seven," Yama mouthed in response, his head still nodding to the beat of his music.

"I've gotten nine."

Yama only grinned and pushed the fast forward button on his music player. He hopped around on the balls of his feet, his faster pace matching the beginning of a new song. As bass blasted in his ears, he sprinted forward, leaped into the air, and flipped upside down, firing fifteen rapid fire bolts of reishi. It was a scattershot, killing four Hollows and injuring several others. Still in mid-jump, Yama drew his bow and let fly one final, massive bolt. It shot straight through a Hollow and exploded in a blast of blue reishi as it hit the earth. Yama landed on his feet with ease, and lifted his goggles off of his eyes as he surveyed his surroundings. He took a quick glance at his music player.

"Huh. That was only thirty seconds into the song," he muttered to himself. "Maybe I need to save the faster songs for when there's—"

Momentarily distracted, he couldn't react quickly enough to a Hollow that rushed at him from behind. He raised his free arm in retaliation, but there was nothing he could do except stretch it out into the Hollow's waiting jaws…

Then the beast was thrown sideways as Nisshoku struck the Hollow square on the side of its head. With a tug, Matsuo returned his weapon to his hand.

"You ever wonder why people don't listen to music on the job very often?" he asked Yama sarcastically.

The Quincy stood stunned for a moment, then smiled, punching an arm in Matsuo's direction. A bolt flew straight past his ear and struck a Hollow behind him.

"Same goes for _slacking off_," Yama retorted. "Consider us even."

He and Matsuo turned to the remaining Hollows. Matsuo had five left to kill, while Yama only had four.

"Seeing as I'm behind, it seems I'll actually have to resort to going faster," Matsuo murmured to himself.

"You say something?" Yama asked, pausing his music.

And then Matsuo vanished. One moment he was standing firmly in place, and the next moment, Yama was blinking Matsuo's afterimage out of his eyes. Yama glanced around, his gaze coming to rest on the remaining Hollow swarm. Matsuo had teleported right into their midst.

"Flash step… impressive," Yama commented.

By this time, Matsuo had already killed off two more Hollows. After Yama's last strike, many of them were injured, easy targets to finish off. Now Matsuo proceeded to combat a third Hollow, throwing the kunai instead of the shuriken and piercing the beast's right shoulder. With a great yank, Matsuo reeled the Hollow towards himself like a small fry on a professional fishing rod. His shuriken was folded, glowing with reiatsu, and Matsuo thrust the blades forward. With help from the Hollow's own momentum, they split the creature right down the center.

"One more Hollow, and I'll win!" Matsuo thought with a savage grin.

However, Yama had dispatched three more Hollows with ease, leaving both fighters with only a single Hollow between themselves and victory. With a quick glance at one another, they both dashed toward one of the two remaining beasts. Matsuo hurled Nisshoku, while Yama fired multiple bolts from his bow.

Both weapons struck the Hollow at nearly the same moment, the combined onslaught killing the Hollow. Neither of their owners could determine which had struck first.

"So… whose kill was that?" Matsuo asked.

"Don't ask me, I couldn't even tell," Yama replied with a shrug.

Then their expressions changed from ones of confusion to ones of sudden realization. There was only one Hollow left. Whoever killed it would be the winner. Slowly, Matsuo and Yama turned to face the last Hollow, frozen with fear behind them. It was completely uninjured, but it still seemed rather docile in comparison to the rest of the Hollows the two fighters had slain.

Matsuo and Yama stared each other down, waiting to see who would be bold enough to make the first move. Tension was high as they stood stock-still, ready to strike at a moment's notice—

"Wait!" Yama said suddenly.

Matsuo flinched but held his ground.

"Look," said the Quincy. "You could use the flash step to get to that Hollow in an instant. But I could use the Quincy equivalent, _Hirenkyaku_, to get there just as fast. I swear by my pride as a Quincy that I could match you."

Matsuo nodded. "I'll take your word for it. But… if you're implying what I think you are… you think we should both use our weakest weapons and abilities to determine who is superior. Am I right?"

Yama nodded in return. "Exactly."

"But since your bolts would clearly be faster than me with my sealed Zanpakuto… I find it fair that I keep my weapon as is." Matsuo grinned. "Let's see which is better: strength, or accuracy."

"And if we both strike at the same time, like before?" Yama inquired.

"Then whoever strikes closest to the center of the Hollow's mask is the winner," Matsuo stated.

"Very well… On three then?"

"Wait, as in, 'One, two, three,' and _then _we go? Or, 'One, two, three,' and we go on 'three'?"

Yama looked dumbfounded. "You _really _aren't taking any chances, are you?" he asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Can't afford them," Matsuo answered with an innocent shrug.

"Fair enough." Yama sighed. "We'll both go on 'three'… not after."

"Fine." Matsuo tensed for the countdown.

"One," Yama began.

Matsuo brought his arm holding Nisshoku back, twisting his core as well as lowering his stance; Yama drew back his bow, gathering a basic bolt.

"Two."

The combatants' bodies were rigid, ready to strike.

"…_Three!_"

END EPISODE 2

**おわり**


	3. Episode 3 - Chains of Servitude

Episode 3 – Chains of Servitude

"_Three!_"

In their last ditch efforts to see who was the superior combatant, Matsuo and Yama launched their attacks simultaneously. Matuso flung Nisshoku with full force, and Yama fired a concentrated, fast-flying bolt. Both raced toward the single remaining Hollow, the only obstacle between either of the fighters and victory.

Then something unexpected happened. Matsuo had thrown Nisshoku in such a direction so that it intercepted Yama's reishi bolt mid-flight. The collision caused the bolt to burst, the force of which sent Nisshoku careening off course. It landed a few feet from the final Hollow.

Yama and Matsuo stood stunned momentarily, during which the Hollow took advantage of their hesitation and vanished through one of the portals it had arrived in. It was gone.

Matsuo gave a frustrated sigh and pulled Nisshoku back into his hand, returning it to the form of a katana. Yama dissipated his bow as well, and paused the music he had been playing.

"No sign of it left. Looks like we won't determine who's greater after all," said Matsuo.

"So it would seem," Yama agreed. "And I don't have time to go to the trouble of trying to attract more."

"Attract more…?" Matsuo muttered. "Wait – you mean to tell me you _are _the one who brought all those Hollows here?!"

"Wha—no!" Yama said, offended. "I sensed them all when they arrived. I came to put a stop to them before they caused too much damage. Finding you here was just a bonus!"

"I don't know if I believe you, but I don't have time to worry about it. I still need to take care of the girl's soul that was—"

Matsuo turned to where he had left the little girl's soul he had discovered. She was gone as well. He scanned the edges of the field, but she was nowhere to be seen. Matsuo couldn't even sense her presence anymore.

"There was another soul here?" inquired Yama. "Huh. I couldn't sense it over the reiatsu of all those Hollows. Tell you what, if I find her I'll let you know. Even I don't want souls to wander this world."

"Thanks," said Matsuo. "As a favor, I'll hold off on any further conflict with you until our next encounter. That is, assuming you don't arrive with news of that girl's soul."

"Fair enough," Yama consented. "Just know that the next time this happens… it won't be a simple killing spree."

"Good. This was too easy anyway." Matsuo grinned.

"Later." Yama waved as he pushed play on his music player and leaped over the trees.

Matsuo sheathed his Zanpakuto, and with a flash step, he vanished. He reappeared over the treetops, searching for the soul he'd found before.

* * *

><p>Unbeknownst to either Matsuo or Yama, there had been a third participant in their little skirmish. From a distance away, prying eyes had watched with interest at the spectacle that had just come to a close. Well hidden in a thick part of the woods, the man smiled as the Shinigami and the Quincy went their separate ways. He lay back on a tree trunk with satisfaction, spinning a small, glowing chain link on his pointer finger. As he did, he glanced up at movement in front of him. A little girl met his eye with a dull, blank stare. He smiled and stood up, walking over to her.<p>

"You did a good job today, my dear," he said, giving her a pat on the head. "Now we know who they sent to investigate. We even met the town Quincy as well."

The girl only gave a slight nod. The man walked past her toward the nearby college campus, pocketing the chain link as he went. After a moment, the girl followed behind him, keeping pace but not showing any sign of enthusiasm or restraint. The chain links on her chest jingled quietly as she walked.

"I think it's time… to pick up the pace a little bit," the man said, smiling to himself.

* * *

><p>"<em>Oh-ho<em>, I love these!"

Koto smiled as he chomped on another apple. He sat back on Matsuo's bed, tossing the fruit up and down in his hand. A bit of juice dripped down onto his forehead, and he wiped it off, licking his fingers afterward. Then he realized he was down to his last apple.

"Gah!" he spat, accidentally spitting chunks of apple across the room. He quickly swallowed what was left in his mouth, and then rushed to the mini fridge. In his haste, he kicked Matsuo's pillow away and flung the sheets into a big wrinkled heap at the end of the bed. He stopped, turning back to try and straighten up the mess, but slipped on a notebook that was resting beside the bed. He fell forward onto the bed, sending the notebook flying into the air. Koto looked on with dread as it struck the small bookshelf on the opposite side of the room. Nearly all of its books fell onto the floor. Only one remained tottering on the shelf.

"No…_no…_!" Koto dashed to the other side of the room to try and stop the book from falling. But he only ended up slipping on another notebook, tearing the cover along with a few pages below it. They were flung into the air as Koto fell flat on his face. The book he'd so desperately been trying to save ended up falling right on top of his head. It was a hardcover novel.

"Owowowowowow…" he muttered to himself as he sat upright, his eyes scrunched closed in irritation. Opening them, he looked up to see Matsuo standing in the doorway, wide-eyed at the mess that lay before him. Koto gave an embarrassed grin.

"Uh… I-I can clean this up," he stammered.

Matsuo took a deep breath. "Just get out of my body already," he said, massaging his temples.

"Uh… sure," Koto said with a guilty laugh.

Matsuo straightened up his room and got Koto out of his Gigai, laying the body on his bed. Then he unsheathed Nisshoku, and placed it across his lap as he sat on the floor. He exhaled slowly, shutting his eyes.

Upon opening them, he saw a wide field where his dorm room used to be, vast and green, spreading for miles. Matsuo was sitting beneath a large tree, its branches covered with fresh leaves. The sky was pitch black and speckled with stars, but Matsuo could see the field as clearly as if it was daytime. A cool breeze flowed through the warm are, swirling the millions of grass blades below.

"Come to talk about what happened earlier?" asked a warm, calm voice.

Matsuo smiled, sitting upright to look behind the tree he sat against. There, a monk wearing golden robes was sitting with a warm smile on his face – Nisshoku's incarnation. He had a Yin-Yang pendant hanging on a chain around his neck. A tattoo of the sun could be seen on his right hand, and there was one of the moon on his left. Usually he had a sheathed katana at his side, but for now it was resting against the tree trunk. The monk looked back at Matsuo, his golden yellow eyes shining.

"What, I can't come here for a casual conversation?" Matsuo joked.

"Come now, if we were to just chat here, it would take ages," replied Nisshoku.

"Yeah, good point." Matsuo nodded, his expression becoming serene.

"This is about that little girl's soul, isn't it?"

Matsuo's brow creased. "Nisshoku…"

"You don't have to say it." The monk stood up, stepping toward Matsuo and placing a friendly hand on his shoulder. "You know I'm doing everything in my power to help you. I am a part of you, after all."

"Would you have any idea why so many Hollows would be gathering around such a small soul?" Matsuo asked, running a rough hand through his hair in frustration.

"I'm not sure," said Nisshoku. "Perhaps there is more to her spiritual being than meets the eye…"

"Yeah, mayb—"

Matsuo looked up suddenly, causing Nisshoku to remove the hand from his shoulder in surprise. "What is it?" he asked.

"More than meets the eye… her eyes!" Matsuo cried. "They weren't anything like the souls' eyes I've seen…"

"True," Nisshoku recalled, "they were rather dim… as if she wasn't completely herself."

"What could cause a soul to lose themselves?"

"Aside from becoming a Hollow, nothing comes to mind," answered Nisshoku. "Perhaps you should contact the Soul Society's research institute to see if they have any information."

"I was thinking the exact same thing," remarked Matsuo. "Hold on… Are you stealing my thoughts again?"

Nisshoku laughed lightly. "Not intentionally, I assure you. If anything, it's your thoughts that are reaching out to me."

"That's probably true." Matsuo grinned, and then rose to leave. He took a few steps away, looking up into the starry sky and giving a sigh. "I never get tired of coming in here."

"Well, it _is _your inner world," Nisshoku reminded him. "It should suit your tastes best of all – you know that."

"I know. I still love it," Matsuo said with a laugh. He turned back to face the monk, who was now leaning against the tree.

"Nisshoku," he said slowly. "Are you…?"

"Yes, yes," Nisshoku assured him. "It's all under control. I'll be here whenever you need me. With luck, I always will."

Back in the dorm room, Matsuo opened his eyes to see a big pair of pale green ones staring back at him.

"Bah!" he cried out, flying backwards in surprise. He jumped so far that he ended up against the back wall of his room.

"Oh, for _goodness_' sake, Matsuo!" A woman, the owner of the green eyes, stood up. She wore a uniform much like Matsuo's, but personalized to suit her own style. She was about the same height as him, with long dark brown hair that reached the middle of her back. Her unsheathed katana was held to her side with the light green obi sash around her waist, which was tied in a bow. The blade was pitch black, the guard in the shape of a silver crescent moon, and the handle was silver, wrapped in black ribbon. From the base of the hilt hung a string of black and green beads, smooth and shadowy. The woman raised an eyebrow at Matsuo as she looked down at him.

"C-Captain Haruhi!" he sputtered, breathing rather heavily.

"How many times have I told you – call me Michiyo!"

"Y-yes, ma'am!"

"Oh, come now! I thought you'd be happy to see me," the woman teased.

Haruhi Michiyo was the captain of Squad Seven of the Gotei Thirteen Court Guard Squads. They were known to live their lives to the fullest, and she certainly lived up to that trademark. Although she wasn't Matsuo's captain, she had become a reliable friend to him.

"I have an update for you from Soul Society," she announced, pulling a small scroll from her uniform. She handed it to Matsuo, who was still sitting on the floor trying to slow his heart rate.

"So," he managed to say after a moment, "what exactly does this update entail?"

"Put plainly, I and a couple other higher end Shinigami are going to be helping you with this investigation."

"The research center thinks the situation here is _that _dire?" Matsuo asked, glancing up from the scroll. "There haven't been that many abnormalities lately…"

"Not many?" Michiyo inquired. "What do you mean, 'not many'?"

"Well… um…"

Michiyo eyed Matsuo, looking annoyed. "Why so quiet?" she demanded. Then she noticed that his eyes were wide, and a small trickle of blood was dripping from his nose.

"What—" Michiyo began, looking down at herself. She soon realized what the problem was: her uniform had opened up slightly over her chest, revealing plenty of cleavage.

"_Ah–!_" she cried, her face turning red in embarrassment as she yanked her uniform closed. "You _perv! _Why didn't you say anything?!"

"I thought you would notice!" Matsuo replied, standing up and quickly wiping his nose.

"Why, you–!" Veins began to throb on Michiyo's forehead as her expression turned to one of rage. She pulled back her fist and punched Matsuo in the gut, causing him to fall over onto the floor, clutching his stomach.

"I'm sorry…" Matsuo wheezed.

Michiyo heaved a large sigh and helped him off of the floor. He sat down on his bed, groaning as he rubbed the area of his stomach that would doubtlessly be bruised later.

"It happened when you pulled that scroll out of your uniform," he told Michiyo. "Might want to keep that in mind next time you deliver intel…"

"Thanks," she said with a hint of sarcasm.

"So… who all has been assigned here?" Matsuo asked. "The spiritually densest area has got to be Karakura Town in Japan. Has been ever since those captains betrayed Soul Society."

"From what I hear from other captains who were around then, it's nothing today like it was back then," said Michiyo. "Now the main concern is the growing spiritual presence here."

"It's still growing? Even after all of those Hollows I killed?"

"How many are we talking?"

"Around thirty or so. The last one escaped…"

"How on _earth _did you manage to defeat so many without releasing your spiritual restriction?" Michiyo asked in surprise.

"The local Quincy lent a hand there," Matsuo muttered.

"A Quincy? Here? So _they're _acting on it too…"

"No, I think he just lives here. We'd have heard of him otherwise."

"That's probably true," agreed Michiyo. "Was he the one who lured the Hollows here?"

"I asked him the very same question. He says he didn't."

"Well, what else could possibly bring so many Hollows together?"

"The only thing I can think of is the…" Matsuo furrowed his brow in thought.

"The…what?" asked Michiyo.

"The girl," Matsuo finished. "There was a little girl's spirit there."

"You performed a Konso, right?"

"No, she vanished before I could," Matsuo admitted, leaning forward and folding his hands in front of him.

"That's strange…"

"She was an odd one, though," said Matsuo, looking up at Michiyo. "She had a really blank look on her face. Like she wasn't really _seeing _me."

"Shock, maybe?"

"That's what I thought at first, but no," Matsuo said. "She wasn't frightened…"

"And you couldn't find any trace of her reiatsu afterward?" Michiyo asked. She was quite puzzled by this story, and she began pacing back and forth from wall to wall of the room.

"None." Matsuo shook his head.

"Have you tried contacting the –"

"–research bureau?" Matsuo finished for her. "I'm going to. I was talking it over with Nisshoku before you scared the hell out of me."

"I was _wondering _what you were doing," said Michiyo.

"Anyway, we won't know any more about that until we hear back from the research institute," Matsuo concluded. "So who will we be working with?"

"Go ahead and check the list yourself," said Michiyo, motioning towards the scroll in Matsuo's hands. "I think you'll like who we have in store."

He unfurled the scroll and took a quick glance at the list of names. Before he could discern anything, however, a strong wind from his window blew the paper from his hands.

"You've got to be kidding me," Matsuo muttered. He stood and walked over to pick up the scroll.

That's when it occurred to him: How could there be wind in his dorm room? His window had been shut even before he'd met with Nisshoku.

Now, Matsuo spun around to see the window wide open. But it was the person sitting on the windowsill that truly surprised him. Michiyo was smiling.

"Now, what do you need that list for?" the man in the window asked playfully.

It was Matsuo's turn to smile. "Well, some of us have had more than their fair share of surprises today."

Michiyo chuckled lightly. "I didn't expect you to be here so early," she said to the man, crossing her arms.

"Hey, I make good time," he responded. "But I hope you don't mind me dropping in like this."

"Not at all," Matsuo said warmly, going over to the window to help the visitor into the room. "It's always good to see you, Ryuuhei."

END EPISODE 3

**おわり**


	4. Episode 4 - Gather and Reinforce

Episode 4 - Gather and Reinforce

A Shinigami named Ryuuhei sat on Matsuo's dorm windowsill, smiling at him along with the captain of Squad Seven, Haruhi Michiyo. Matsuo strode over to the window and helped his companion through. Standing up, Ryuuhei was quite tall, standing well about half a foot taller than either Matsuo or Michiyo. He wore his medium length blonde hair up in a crown of spikes on the top of his head, although a few stray clumps managed to fall down to his face every once in a while. He also let his hair drop down behind his neck, which was cut off at around the shoulders. He wore a basic uniform, much like the uniforms Matsuo and Michiyo wore; only the undershirt under his uniform and obi sash at his waist was blue, which went well together with his Zanpakuto. It was strapped to his side, sheathed in a black sheath with a crisscrossing silver ribbon pattern. The guard was a silver spiral, leading to the silver hilt wrapped in blue ribbon. Off of the hilt hung shining steel shells wrapped in twine, similar in style to a necklace you'd see in the tropics.

"Nakamura Ryuuhei," Michiyo started to say with a warm smile, "you certainly know how to make an entrance as always."

"Good to see you too, Captain." Ryuuhei said formally, standing up straight. "If you don't mind me asking, Captain… why aren't you wearing your captain's robes?"

"Those heavy things?" Michiyo said, slightly annoyed. "I prefer to go on missions without them. They don't help at all, and they are very expensive to have repaired if they are damaged. And those repairs come out of my salary!"

Her expression relaxed as she looked back at Ryuuhei, a sly smile coming across her face.

"Besides," she said, taking a step towards him, "I know how much you enjoy seeing me with… less on."

Ryuuhei's shoulders stiffened with discomfort as Michiyo ran a finger down one of his arms. "I wouldn't know anything about that…" he said, his cheeks becoming red with embarrassment.

"Will you two keep the harassment inside your own barracks?" Matsuo complained. "My gosh, poor Ryuuhei can't think straight when you do that to him! Why do that to your own lieutenant?"

"Oh, you know I'm just playing around!" Michiyo said playfully, lightly slapping Ryuuhei's shoulder. "Lighten up, sheesh. It's all in good fun!"

"That depends on what you consider to be fun…" Matsuo muttered.

Ryuuhei relaxed a bit at Matsuo's remark, taking a seat next to him on his bed.

"Well, how have you been holding up since you left?" he inquired. "Any big events to report?"

"As a matter of fact," Michiyo said, "Matsuo was just telling me about a rather interesting abnormality he came across. Apparently he met a soul that was behaving rather… strangely."

"Strange how?"

"Like she wasn't really seeing me." Matsuo said. "It was as though she wasn't really taking in what was around her. Even when the Hollow swarm attacked, she still-"

"Wait, wait, wait…" Ryuuhei interjected. "You were swarmed?"

"Do I really need to go through this story a second time?" Matsuo said, scratching his head.

"If you tell me about it, I can inform you as to who is here with me on this mission." Ryuuhei offered.

"How about you give me the names first, then I'll tell you what happened."

"Fine, fine." Ryuuhei sighed. "There's actually only a couple who have arrived as of now. The lieutenant of Squad Eleven, Saruwatari Shigehito, and the third seat of Squad Four, Nakamura Masato."

"Well, who else will be coming?" Matsuo asked.

"You've got the list, don't you?" Ryuuhei said, pointing to the scroll Matsuo had picked up. "Look for yourself."

Matsuo had completely forgotten the scroll that he had retrieved among all the people who were showing up. He unfurled the scroll again and took a look at the remaining names.

"Only a few others…" Matsuo said, rolling up the scroll.

"Yes, but those few are how Soul Society is preparing for any type of situation we may come across." Michiyo said. "The fact they sent a lieutenant in the first place is testament to that."

"Which reminds me," Ryuuhei said, "what was this whole deal about you being swarmed?"

"Basically speaking, I came across a soul on my way back here, and then out of nowhere around thirty Hollows attacked me at once."

"And you managed to-"  
>"No, I didn't kill them all on my own."<p>

"Then wha-"  
>"Quincy."<p>

"Ah." Ryuuhei said. He paused for a few moments, sorting out the abridged version of what he had just heard. "And the soul?"

"Vanished."

"Are you-"

"Yes, I checked everywhere."

"You even-"

"Yes."

"Weird." Ryuuhei finished.

"You two can really spare the chit chat when you want to, can't you?" Michiyo said, watching the entire exchange with an eyebrow raised.

"Pretty much, yeah." Ryuuhei said as they both gave a couple nods of their heads.

"Well, if you two are done, the only thing left are the orders at the bottom of the scroll."

Matsuo tossed the scroll back to Michiyo, and she caught it in her right hand without even flinching.

"I took a glance after going over the last few names on the list." Matsuo said. "We are to carry out our previous orders, only now we are advised to report anything unusual to the research bureau."

"If that's the case, it would also seem that even Soul Society is detecting something unusual here. This means we need to be extra sharp while we investigate this." Michiyo said.

"Agreed." Ryuuhei said, standing up. "Well, I've done all I can here. I'm going to head out and do my rounds. Don't hesitate to let me know if either of you need me."

"Oh, Ryuuhei…" Michiyo said, taking on her playful tone of voice again, "you know I always need you."

Ryuuhei became rigid again, taking a few steps towards the window. "Of course, ma'am." He said, his face turning red as he moved to exit through the window. "I'll see you later, Matsuo," he said quickly, leaping out the window into the dusk that had fallen over the college campus.

"I never get tired of that!" Michiyo laughed to herself. "He's always so uptight about stuff like that."

"Oh, leave the poor guy alone." Matsuo said.

"He'll be fine!" Michiyo said with a shrug. "What, are you jealous of all the attention he gets?"

"I think I got enough attention earlier, thanks." Matsuo said, putting a hand to his stomach with a slight grimace.

"Right… sorry for hitting you so hard." Michiyo apologized.

"I'll live." Matsuo said with a smile.

Michiyo smiled back, glad that Matsuo had accepted the apology.

"I'll be heading on out, too," she said, walking towards the door.

"You're not going to chase after your lieutenant?" Matsuo asked with a grin, motioning towards the window.

"Oh, please." Michiyo grinned back. "He's the one who always comes back to _me_."

They both chuckled as Michiyo opened the door to leave. "I'll be seeing you around, Matsuo," she said with a wave of her hand.

Matsuo waved as she left. Once she was gone, Matsuo went over and closed his window. Cold air was starting to blow through. He got back into his Gigai, making sure everything was moving smoothly, and walked over to close his door. Looking out into the living room of his two-person dorm, his roommate sat on the couch, staring back at him with wide eyes.

"Dude…" he said after a few moments, "your door totally just opened on its own!"

"What are you talking about?" Matsuo said, giving him a weird look.

"The handle totally moved on its own, and then it opened like something was leaving… but there was nothing there!"

"Oh, that was my fault." Matsuo said, scratching his head in faux embarrassment. "I kind of tripped on one of my notebooks and grabbed the door handle for support. I guess it unlatched and opened because of the wind in my room."

Matsuo's roommate gave him a suspicious look, but after some consideration, let the whole thing slide.

"I'm going to do some homework and then hit the hay." Matsuo said. "So, good night!"

"'Night, dude," he said in reply.

Matsuo shut his door behind him and let out a sigh. He had forgotten to check and make sure no one was in his room when Michiyo left. Fortunately, his roommate wasn't the most perceptive of people. Satisfied, Matsuo sat back down on his bed and picked up one of his schoolbooks.

"Ugh… history. As if I haven't seen enough of it." Matsuo complained. "Ah, well… chapter five…" he muttered as he lay back on his bed and opened the book.

* * *

><p>Ryuuhei leaped from rooftop to rooftop, surveying the neighborhoods below him. The night air was cool against his skin, and it didn't help that the night sky was overcast and the only light he could go off of was the street lights, and even then he didn't like the glare they gave off. Still, it was better than patrolling in complete darkness. He alighted on the top of a flagpole in the yard of a neighborhood home, taking a quick look about him.<p>

A sharp sensation tore through his focus. He could sense a Hollow nearby, and it wasn't one of the small fries either. However, it wasn't the strongest he had sensed, either. As a matter of fact, he felt the energy fluctuating frequently.

"Something big must be going on," he thought to himself. He got a fix on the direction it was coming from, and then rushed towards its source.

Coming to a small downtown area, Ryuuhei surveyed below, searching for the source of the Hollow spiritual pressure that was standing out so distinctly. That's when he spotted them: a Hollow chasing down a man on the sidewalks. As Ryuuhei rushed to the man's aid, the man turned a corner leading to a dead end alleyway. The Hollow followed quickly, cornering the man against a wall. Ryuuhei swiftly landed between them, facing the Hollow.

"Stay behind me!" Ryuuhei commanded. The man was too frightened to respond, but he nonetheless stayed pinned to the wall.

Ryuuhei drew his Zanpakuto, taking a battle ready stance and keeping his eyes fixed on the Hollow, ready for any strike it could make. However, the Hollow instead took a few steps back.

"It's acting rather strangely…" Ryuuhei thought. "Is it afraid? Or is it just being cautious? Well, either way, I can't let it escape."

Ryuuhei leaped forward ready to strike the Hollow square on its mask.

"_Signa spiritus intra circulum_," a voice spoke in the darkness.

A wall of spiritual energy suddenly blasted up from the ground, blasting Ryuuhei back with a shock of energy as he struck it. Ryuuhei fell into the center of a circular barrier of spirit energy, which closed off above him. There was no way to escape. Ryuuhei stood wide eyed at this spectacle.

"What…? How…?" he muttered to himself, stunned. He looked all around him for the caster of the spell, but he could neither see nor sense anyone else nearby.

"Stop looking around for someone else!" the man behind Ryuuhei said in a harsh, cold tone. "There's no one else here."

Ryuuhei stood in disbelief. There was no way he could discern that a human could cast a spell like this. Looking at him, he looked just like any other person. His outfit was simple; jeans, black tennis shoes, a black t-shirt with a blue skull graphic on the front, and a dark blue and grey hoodie over top with the hood pulled over his head, although strands of black hair could be seen hanging in the man's face. He gazed at Ryuuhei with a sharp look, his grey eyes deep and dark.

"What are you?" Ryuuhei asked. "Are you a Quincy?"

"What?" the man said in a dumbfounded voice. "Do you really think a Quincy wouldn't be able to fend for themselves? Not that I need protecting, anyway."

That's when Ryuuhei realized it. The Hollow had remained stationary for the entire time he had been trapped. It had done nothing to even try and make a move against this mere human.

"How?" Ryuuhei thought, confounded. "How is he able to do all this?"

There was only one way that Ryuuhei could think to try and escape his prison. He held his Zanpakuto horizontally, gripping the hilt just below the guard and lightly grasping the blade on the opposite side of the guard.

"Drag them to the depths…" he muttered quickly.

"_Alligaverit spiritus__intra__circulum!_" the man said in a quick, pronounced voice.

Suddenly, ribbons of glowing spiritual energy shot out of the ground and wrapped themselves around Ryuuhei's ankles, his waist, his shoulders, his arms, his wrists, and his neck, forcing him to kneel on the ground. One ribbon even pulled his Zanpakuto from his hands and bound it to the ground. Ryuuhei was trapped, kneeling on the ground with his arms firmly bound by his sides.

The man before him walked toward the barrier. With a wave of his hand, he dissipated a door sized portion of it so he could walk though. Upon entering, the barrier closed again. Even as he did this, the Hollow stood by, not moving an inch.

"Well, now…" the man said with a sigh, "I expected more from a Shinigami. Especially… a lieutenant?" the man guessed.

Ryuuhei just glared up at his captor.

"I thought so," he said with a nod. "The problem is, we're not ready for you Shinigami to find out about what we have going on just yet. See, we have some big plans for this side of the world. Actually, the same goes for the rest of the world, too."

The man's expression suddenly changed to faux surprise. "Oh, but what's this? I've gone and said too much."

His expression changed to a solemn glare, and even so, he grinned. "And that means you know too much."

He pulled a dagger from his pocket, and it shone with a brilliantly smooth polish along the newly sharpened edge. He then made a long cut along the palm of his hand, letting the blood run along the blade until it was nearly coated.

"_Exorcizamus__Sanguis__mortui__vivis_," he murmured. The blood on the blade began to glow with spiritual energy.

Ryuuhei's eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen. He struggled as hard as he could, but the binds held him firmly in place. He tried to reach for his Zanpakuto, but it was too far out of reach. He couldn't even get out the words to perform a Kido spell. The man raised the blade above his head.

And with a final, maniacal grin, he brought the blade down and slashed across Ryuuhei's chest.

END EPISODE 4

**おわり**


	5. Episode 5 - Stocks and Bonds

Episode 5 – Stocks and Bonds

"Overpower! _Choshinsei!_" a massive voice yelled from overhead.

The man who had captured and mutilated Nakamura Ryuuhei looked up in complete surprise to see a brawny, overpowered figure racing straight down towards him. His spiritual energy blasted from him in a bright, flaming red aura. Two single-bladed battle axes chained to his wrist with shackles were glowing hot with energy, held over his head ready to drive through anything in their path. He wore no shirt, but his chest was crisscrossed with chains that were held in place with padlocks at the intersections. However, his face wasn't visible through the flames of reiatsu that was charging straight toward the barrier with full force.

"_Tueri spiritus intra-_" the man started to say.

Too late. The newly arrived warrior struck the top of the barrier with the full blunt of his strength. Reiatsu blasted in all directions as his two axe blades impacted the barrier. The shock of the blast was enough to cause the Hollow standing nearby to vanish completely. It even knocked the caster down on his back. Cracks quickly crisscrossed their way around the barrier's edges, and some streams of reiatsu began to pour through. The cracks widened and grew, and the barrier began to cave in.

"Ahhhh!" he cried, raising one of his axes above his head and striking down once more. The entire barrier shattered in a flurry of glass-like reiatsu. The caster sat wide eyed with fright as reiatsu fell straight down onto him. A blast of rubble and dust blew up from the ground, and the energy from the blast was enough to shatter Ryuuhei's binds. Ryuuhei fell forward, blood falling from the gash in his chest. Before he struck the ground, someone rushed over, caught him, and rushed away from the blast zone. He lighted down with Ryuuhei's unconscious body on a nearby rooftop, and laid him down as gently as possible. The figure stayed kneeled beside him, placing his hands over the wound. His hands started to glow lightly, and the wound began to seal itself.

Meanwhile, the dust and rubble began to clear. The first attacker stood above a very beaten and unconscious opponent, the dagger broken in two next to his hand. Around him was a circle of concaved concrete; the force of the strike had broken the ground below him as well as knocked him out. On the ground surrounding them were countless inscriptions, all drawn in a circular pattern. They weren't too different from summoning circles you'd see in spiritual and demon lore.

"He wasn't much trouble at all," he said, returning his battle axes to their original katana form. He slid his Zanpakuto through one of the chain links near his side. Taking a deep breath, he slid a hand through his red-orange hair, which was rather short cut. He proceeded to grab his unconscious foe by the collar of his shirt, picked him up, and threw him over his shoulder. He turned and walked out of the alleyway, stopping at the intersection of the alley with the sidewalk. He looked straight up towards the rooftop where Ryuuhei's wounds were being healed.

"Oi!" he called out. "I've got another one here for you to heal! Sucks that I'm not allowed to kill anyone…" he muttered, shifting the body on his shoulder slightly.

"Well, hurry up and bring him up here, then!" the other called down.

"Fine, fine… but I'm going to at least have some fun getting up there," he grinned.

Instead of simply leaping up to the rooftop, which he easily could have done, the man sprinted towards the wall of the house, jumped and grabbed the top of one of the windows. He situated his feet on the windowsill below, and proceeded to climb up the side of the house before hauling the caster's body over onto the roof before climbing up himself.

"Why do you always need to be so reckless, Shigehito?" the other man said, still healing Ryuuhei. This Shinigami wore the typical uniform, but also carried a small pack of medical supplies at his side. He wore glasses that were placed almost directly beneath his almost bowl cut hair, which was completely black and gelled so that it spiked at the bangs. His Zanpakuto was sheathed at his side, the light blue-green ribbon on the hilt standing out against his black uniform. A tassel swung from the hilt, a small silver disk hanging at the end. It paled in comparison to the size of the guard, which was many times larger but was the exact same shape and color. They both shone faintly in the light of the spiritual energy emanating from his hands.

"You know I like being a bit on the edge, Masato," the Shinigami named Shigehito said, rolling his shoulder. "Ah, but did it feel good to let loose for a bit."

"Well, I've almost finished first aid on Ryuuhei here," Masato said. "Let me take a quick look at the damage you did to this other one."

"Tsk." Shigehito spat. "What, you don't trust me to know my own strength?"

"No." Masato said with a leer. "No one from Squad Eleven holds back when they fight. It makes my job that much harder when we need to do stuff like this. For example, you broke two of this guy's ribs, torn one of his triceps, and even dislocated his shoulder!"

"It would have been worse had he not defended himself with that knife." Shigehito said.

"So you were meaning to kill him?!" Masato yelled, a vein throbbing in his forehead.

"So what if I was?" Shigehito shrugged. "He's fine, isn't he?"

Masato's eyebrow twitched with annoyance. "Yeah… it'll take some time, but he'll be fine. Same goes for Ryuu-"

Masato stopped short as he realized Ryuuhei had awakened. He tried to sit up, but flinched with pain.

"Hey, take it easy." Masato said. "I only just finished first aid. You still need more medical attention before you're ready to move about again."

Ryuuhei groaned, laying back on the ground. Masato turned his attention to his other patient. Placing his hands over the rogue caster's chest, they glowed again as he started to mend his wounds. Shigehito took a seat nearby, the padlocks rattling against the chains on his chest.

"Of all the people they could have sent me with…" he muttered, "why did they send me with you? You're nearly useless in battle."

Masato leered at Shigehito again. "That's all you Squad Eleven Shinigami can think about, isn't it? Fighting. Well, there's more to a fight than just winning. Preparation for future fights is important too. And to do that, you can't just sit there with open wounds and head towards the next fight. You need to make sure you are prepared, both physically and mentally. You're lucky I'm here on orders, otherwise I wouldn't bother with you fighter types."

"Oh, can it, will you?" Shigehito said, laying back on the roof with his hands behind his head. "Just do your job."

Another vein throbbed on Masato's forehead, but he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and focused on his work. "While you're just sitting there, at least contact the captain of Squad Seven. She'll want to know what happened to her lieutenant."

"No need for that." Michiyo said, lighting down on the other side of the rooftop. She wore a concerned look on her face that relaxed only slightly seeing Ryuuhei breathing lightly. "Is he going to be alright, Masato?"

"I completed first aid, but you need to get him some real medical attention."

"Thank you," she said with a grateful glance. She kneeled down next to Ryuuhei, taking one of his arms and slowly bringing him up off the ground.

"Captain…" Ryuuhei stammered, wincing as he sat up.

"Don't worry about anything right now, just rest easy. I'll be taking him over to Matsuo's place," she said to Masato, supporting Ryuuhei on her shoulder.

"Right. We'll meet you there shortly." Masato said in reply, turning his attention back to his work.

With that, Michiyo rushed off toward Matsuo's dorm room, the sun starting to rise as dawn approached.

"That should take care of it for now." Masato said, finishing his treatment of the unconscious rogue. "Do you mind?" he asked Shigehito, motioning towards him.

"Oh, fine. But only because it would drag us down if you had to carry him." Shigehito said with a grunt. He lifted the body onto his shoulder again, and the two headed after Michiyo toward Matsuo's dorm.

* * *

><p>"A human? You were bested by a human? This guy?" Matsuo asked in disbelief as he paced back and forth in his living room. Everyone had arrived at Matsuo's dorm a few hours before. Ryuuhei sat on the couch in the middle of the room, his torso covered in bandages. Masato and Michiyo both were working to bandage the still unconscious assailant behind this entire event on a chair nearby. Shigehito stood against the wall on the far side of the room, arms crossed and not really paying attention to the conversation. Matsuo made sure the door was locked and the shades were drawn, so as not to attract any unwanted attention. Ryuuhei had just finished going over what had happened, and Matsuo was still trying to get a grasp on the situation.<p>

"Yeah. That guy right there. Played a pretty nasty trick on me, too." Ryuuhei said with a slight snarl at his attacker.

"And the Hollow didn't do anything that entire time?"

"No." Ryuuhei said, looking back at Matsuo. "It just stood there."

"Did you happen to get a look at its eyes?" Matsuo said quickly.

"What? No. I was more worried about killing it first, and then I was more concerned about my own safety."

"And at that point," Matsuo continued to question, "Do you know how exactly he was able to cast those spells?"

"All I know is he recited some quick incantations." Ryuuhei recalled. "They were sort of like what we do when we need to cast a quick Kido spell. It wasn't anywhere near the full incantation."

"And yet it was still strong enough to keep you imprisoned?" Matsuo said with a troubled look. "This doesn't bode well…"

"Did you happen to notice anything unusual?" Michiyo piped in, referring to either Masato or Shigehito.

"I had to hurry and get Ryuuhei out of there. I didn't see anything aside from the barrier before it was brought down by Shigehito." Masato said.

"The only thing I noticed was these stupid scribbles on the ground." Shigehito said. "Of course, I couldn't tell what it was after smashing that guy into the ground."

"Do you know what these drawings were drawn with?" Matsuo asked.

"Why the hell would I know that?" Shigehito said, giving Matsuo a weird look.

"Good lord…" Masato groaned, pinching his brow.

"Well, there's one piece of evidence that's probably erased by now." Michiyo said with equal annoyance.

"There is one thing I noticed about his spells…" Ryuuhei said, creasing his brow in thought. "They were definitely in Latin."

"Latin?" Matsuo asked, even more confused.

"Is there an echo in here?" Ryuuhei said, glancing around the room before giving Matsuo an irritated look.

"Well, we'll know more once he wakes up." Masato said, standing up.

"Well, we know so far that he meant to lure you there." Michiyo said.

"Which means that the Hollow that was chasing him was being manipulated somehow." Matsuo said, developing a train of thought.

"Do you think he was controlling the Hollow directly?" Ryuuhei interjected.

"It's certainly not impossible." Michiyo said. "But those spells were able to both contain you and restrain you at the same time. He also was able to manipulate them at will. That would still take quite a lot of spiritual prowess."

"The only other possibility would be that someone else was controlling the Hollow at the time, and therefore would have had to have been nearby." Matsuo said.

"And he did say that he was part of a group." Ryuuhei added.

"So we have a group of rogue spiritually aware humans, but we don't know the extent of their abilities." Matsuo concluded.

"That's exactly what you are up against," said the formerly unconscious captive.

Everyone turned quickly to see their hostage awake, but not moving an inch.

"Bakudo Number Four: Hainawa!" Michiyo called out. A bright yellow ribbon of light flowed from her hand and bound him to the chair he was sitting in.

"Is that really necessary?" he asked with a grin.

"Purely precautionary." Michiyo said with a leer.

"I know what I'm up against." he said in reply. "I don't plan on trying anything against all… five of you." he said after glancing around the room.

"Now, that's not very polite." Matsuo said, standing in front of the chair. "You know you're supposed to introduce yourself before we give you any sensitive information like that."

"You know what you're up against, and my name isn't going to do you much good." he said, still grinning. "The name's Ryota Taro."

"Taro…" Michiyo started to say. After a brief pause, she drew her Zanpakuto and in a flash had it right against his neck. "Those who pick fights with my squad members pick a fight with me. And I'm not usually one to talk things out."

"Easy, Captain…" Matsuo said. "He's no good to us dead."

"I never said I'd kill him." Michiyo said with a snarl. "Although he damn well deserves it."

Sheathing her Zanpakuto, Michiyo turned away from Taro, holding back anger that she wanted to let loose. Taro breathed a sigh of relief as the blade moved away from his throat.

"You guys might want to try and hurry to get as much information out of me as you can." Taro said with a wry smile, his grey eyes meeting Matsuo's. "Because you're right; I wasn't alone when I trapped his sorry ass in my barrier. But just like you've got powerful people here to back you up, I've got powerful friends who don't want me to give anything away. Trust me… they'll be here soon."

Matsuo walked over to Michiyo, their backs to Taro. "I know we shouldn't trust him, but he's right there. He's not alone. They may come after him like when you went after Ryuuhei."

"So what do you suggest?" Michiyo asked. "Should we torture it out of him?"

Just as she asked that, Masato gave a startled cry. Turning around, Matsuo and Michiyo turned to see Taro shaking heavily, almost like he was suffering from some sort of seizure. It became increasingly violent as Taro's head shook and his hands tore into the arms of the chair.

"Masato, what's going on?!" Matsuo shouted.

"I don't know! He just got this scared look on his face and then he ended up like this!"

Taro shook more and more violently, so much so that the chair started to shift and slide along the carpeted floor. His mouth began to foam before gargling shouts began to be heard coming from his throat.

That's when they felt it. An overwhelming sense of spiritual energy was forcing its way into Taro's body. It was piercing his being, reaching for his soul.

"No!" Taro suddenly shouted out. "You swore! You swore to keep me alive! You said you'd rescue me! You traitor! You damned traitor! I'll ki-"

Before he could finish his curses, Taro's soul was torn from his body. The force caused his body to shatter on the inside; everyone heard the bones shatter. Yet the Chain of Fate, which connects the soul to the body, was still intact. However, with one flash of light the chain was severed. Taro's soul was unable to scream it was in so much shock. His eyes rolled back into his head, and with a final cry and a flash of blinding light, his soul vanished.

Everyone in the room was shocked into silence at what they had just witnessed. No one spoke a word for many moments until Masato managed to speak a few words; words that everyone was thinking, but didn't really need to ask.

"What just happened?"

"Someone just forced a soul out of a living body." Matsuo said, stunned. "Someone pulled the soul from the conscious body of a living person."

Everyone else stared back at Matsuo, wide eyed.

"That's… impossible…" Ryuuhei stammered.

"And yet somehow, someone was able to, and without physical contact." Michiyo said in disbelief. "Get me a connection with Soul Society! Now!" she commanded, jolting back into action.

"Y-yes, ma'am!" everyone said in reply. Ryuuhei tried to get up, but his injuries wouldn't allow it.

"You just rest for now, Ryuuhei." Michiyo said.

"R-right…" Ryuuhei said, disappointed that he couldn't help.

Eventually, everyone got together the necessary equipment needed to fashion a temporary communications link to Soul Society.

"Get ready to make the call-"  
>Before a call could be sent, a signal was received through the communications link. There was no visual image, only text that was typing itself out on the screen. As they watched, the following message began to type itself out:<p>

"Attention. This is a message to all Shinigami currently stationed in the state of Michigan, United States, North America:

The spiritual readings received by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute have reached alarming levels. A state of emergency has been called, and all Shinigami currently posted in this area are advised to use any means necessary to investigate and stop this new threat to the World of the Living. Reinforcements will be sent upon request, and all spiritual restrictions are hereby lifted until further notice. Report back on anything that would be considered vital to this case.

This is a direct order from the Captain-Commander of the Gotei Thirteen.

Proceed as directed."

END EPISODE 5

**おわり**


	6. Episode 6 - Outpour of the Soul 1

Episode 6 – Outpour of the Soul, Shaping by the Mind 1

"A direct order from the Captain-Commander…" Masato muttered. "Things must be pretty dire for him to give us an order like this."

"You think?" Shigehito said with a raised eyebrow.

Masato leered at Shigehito through his glasses. "Look, this is the first time an order like this has been called in a long time. Even I know that much."

"Regardless of what did happen, we need to stay focused on what _is_ happening," Michiyo said, stepping between the two of them. Taking a look at the both of them, a slightly confused look came across her face. "By the way, how did you two get paired up?"

"It wasn't the brightest of choices," Masato said, looking away from Shigehito and adjusting the glasses on his face. Shigehito crossed his arms and gave a grunt in sarcastic agreement. Michiyo sighed and walked away from the two of them, not willing to be the moderator between them.

Meanwhile, Matsuo was examining the corpse of Ryota Taro, whose lifeless body remained sitting limp in the chair he had been tied to. A troubled expression showed on his face as he closed Taro's eyes. Ryuuhei had managed to get up the strength to stand and walk again, although he was still taking it slow.

"You alright?" Ryuuhei asked, standing next to Matsuo.

"No… no, I'm not," Matsuo murmured in a thoughtful tone. "How could this happen?"

"Well, our new adversaries seem to have some rather advanced abilities…"

"No, not that…" Matsuo said. "How could they do this to one of their subordinates? You heard what he said before he died. And if they had the power to do this much to him, why couldn't they just try and rescue him?"

"Since they didn't," Ryuuhei offered, "maybe that means they don't want us to know too much about them. Taro was a loose end to them."

Matsuo's expression turned angry. "To do such a thing to someone who was loyal to their cause… it's unforgiveable."

Ryuuhei put a hand on Matsuo's shoulder. "Even so, we still need to focus on what's at hand. If we really want to prevent something like this from happening again, we need to find out who is responsible and put a stop to them."

"I know," Matsuo said. "And I won't stop until I find out who did this."

"Just know that I have your back on this one, Matsuo," Ryuuhei said. "We all do."

"I've been going this one alone for all this time, I think I can handle it myself," Matsuo said. He turned to look at Ryuuhei, who showed a slightly concerned look on his face. Matsuo gave a sigh and smiled.

"Still," he said, "It'll be nice to have some more eyes and ears on this one. I can only cover so much."

"So," Michiyo said, interrupting their train of thought, "where do we go from here? We have our orders."

"Well," Matsuo said, "we're dealing with people who have an extreme talent for spiritual manipulation. And if we want to get any further on this, we're going to need some help from someone who has experience in such a field."

"Who do you recommend for something like this?" Masato asked.

"There's only one person I can think of who has experience in this type of field," Matsuo said with a slight grin. "Although he may need some convincing."

"Who?" Michiyo asked.

"His name's Yamashita Junichiro," Matsuo said. "He's the town Quincy."

* * *

><p>In another part of the city, somewhere underground, a figure sits alone in a hidden sanctuary. Cross-legged, he meditates as a white glow surrounds him. Swirls of energy circle around in wisps, flowing out and around and returning to his body in smooth, flowing curls. The glow is bright enough to illuminate the room around him. On the floor, a large, thin, black mat spreads out and covers the majority of the floor space. Inscribed on its surface shone a large circle with various symbols and shapes dispersed throughout, similar to the circle seen by Shigehito in the alleyway. It shimmered with a slightly silver luster, as if drawn in metal. The only other object in the room was a single door, which was the same color as the walls and blended almost flawlessly with its surroundings, save for one lightly shimmering door handle. The handle presently twisted quickly, and the door flew open as another figure leaned through the doorway, gasping slightly as if he had taken a bit of a run to reach the room.<p>

"Maste-" he began to say, but stopped short as he realized he was interrupting the concentration of the individual on the floor.

"Yes, continue," the figure said, not moving a single inch from his seated position.

"…Excuse me, master," the man in the doorway said after a slight pause, "but we have received word that Ryouta Taro-"

"-is dead?" the figure said without hesitation or concern.

"Y-yes…"

After a few moments, the figure on the floor took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. As he did, the wisps of energy around him smoothly compressed and circled back to a single focal point on his chest, and the light eventually faded, leaving the room near pitch black. The only other light source was the dim light that shone through the doorway, and even then it was difficult to see. The sound of rustling clothes was heard as the figure in the middle of the room stood.

"I knew he was dead the moment it happened," the figure said without turning around. "I sensed it."

"Amazing as ever, master," the figure in the doorway said with a slight bow.

The so-called "master" in the middle of the room turned slowly. His features remained hidden behind a long robe and a hood that concealed his face.

"It would seem it is time to act," he said. "Make the necessary preparations."

"Yes, master," the figure in the door said, turning to take his leave. In his wake, the door closed behind him, leaving the one in the room in total darkness. A faint white glow slowly developed again, dimmer than the glow before, but still enough to enlighten the room. The source of the light hovered over the lone figure's hand.

"Let's see how well you fare… Shinigami."

* * *

><p>In the middle of a city near the college campus, Yamashita strolled down a sidewalk, bobbing his head to a song playing in his headphones that no one else could hear. His goggle-like glasses glistened in the sun as his eyes would turn up and then down again. The grey berretta on his head covered the majority of his head, and was held firmly in place by the headphones he placed over top of it. His pendant bounced around on its chain as he tapped along to the beat of the music. He stopped briefly, inhaled sharply, and held a hand above his head. He held this pose even as people walked past and gave him strange looks. After another moment, he brought down his arm with a sharp downward sweep and continued to stroll down the sidewalk as he had before.<p>

While he was bouncing down the sidewalk, he accidently bumped into someone who was passing by in the opposite direction.

"Oh, sorry sir!" he said, turning around. However, instead of a man standing before him, a woman stood with an annoyed look on her face. She narrowed her eyes at him at the sound of his comment.

"…Or madam…" he said. He grinned awkwardly, and the woman just rolled her eyes and walked off. Yama breathed a heavy, embarrassed sigh. Then a frightened look came over his face, and he swiftly felt around in his pockets. A look of relief came over his face as he pulled out a few small white disks. They resembled chewable tablets of some sort, although they were unmarked. He gave another sigh, this time one of relief, and chuckled to himself as he placed them back in his pocket. He returned to his original stroll, but stopped a second later and realized his headphones had come unplugged when he bumped into the woman as well. With yet another sigh, he pulled his music player out of his pocket and plugged the headphone jack back into the port.

Just as he was about to press play, he paused his finger above the button. He smiled to himself, and raised his head as though he were looking straight forward.

"You're back I see…" he said in a loud voice. "And you brought company this time, no less."

He turned around to see a group of Shinigami standing in the middle of the sidewalk behind him, consisting of Matsuo, Michiyo, Shigehito, Masato, and Ryuuhei. Matsuo headed the group, smiling back at Yama.

"Better find another way to carry your Hollow bait," Matsuo said, motioning towards Yama's pocket. "That many tablets breaking accidently would make for quite a bit of trouble for all of us."

"Actually, it would have been quite a coincidence had they broken," Yama said, pulling one out of his pocket and rolling it around in his fingers. "You see, I was actually hoping to find you sometime soon. We need to settle our score."

"Settle your score?" Michiyo asked Matsuo in a whisper.

"Our last meeting wasn't so much extermination as it was a competition," Matsuo murmured back, still keeping his eyes on Yama. "Seems we won't just be talking today."

"What?" Michiyo shot back at Matsuo with a harsh breath. "You mean to tell me that he actually plans to use that bait?"

"So it would seem," Matsuo whispered back.

Yama flipped the disk into the air and caught it in his fist as it came back down.

"If I think you're whispering about what I think you are, then you know what I'm planning."

"We have a general idea, yes," Matsuo said, taking a few steps forward. "Although the only thing I want from you is some information."

"I'll tell you anything you want to know…" Yama began, as he crushed the Hollow bait disk and tossing the dust that remained into the air. "…if you settle our score first."

The grin vanished from Matsuo's face. That bait in combination from the spiritual energy being emitted by all the Shinigami with him would draw too many Hollows into the area, putting everyone in the city's vicinity at risk.

"This time there won't be a kill limit," Yama said, dusting off his hand against his pant leg. "And your opponents will be more than just the Hollows."

Matsuo furrowed his brow in confusion. "What are you saying?"

"I'm going to be your opponent as well," Yama said with a wry smile. Black, swirling portals began to appear in the sky above, and vicious, glowing eyes peered through. Roars of multiple Hollows tore through the air as white masks emerged from the shadows.

"Damn…" Matsuo muttered under his breath, drawing his Zanpakuto from the sheath on his back. The other Shinigami did likewise, and took a circular formation as more and more Hollows began to appear all around in the city sky.

"Ryuuhei!" Michiyo said quickly. "You stay back and provide support. You're still recovering from your wound. Don't be reckless. That's an order!"

"Yes ma'am," Ryuuhei said, turning his eyes downcast with a troubled look.

"We can cover your back," Shigehito said to Matsuo. "I'd love to tear that Quincy know-it-all a new-"

"No," Matsuo said sternly. "This is my fight. My problem. I'll take care of it."

Everyone in the group gave Matsuo slightly surprised glances. They all knew that members of Squad Three hated fighting, and yet the lieutenant of the entire squad was willing to take a challenge like this on his own. After glancing at one another, they all nodded in agreement not to interfere unless the situation became dire. Meanwhile, the Hollows began to advance upon the Quincy, the group of Shinigami, and the city as a whole. It was time to act.

"Go!" Matsuo called out.

Everyone dashed outward from the circle. Matsuo went straight for Yama while the others went to take care of the massive mob of Hollows that was about to wreak havoc upon the city.

Yama smiled a cocky grin, and punched straight forward with both of his fists, letting loose two small bolts of reishi from his wrist mounted crossbows. Matsuo easily slashed both out of the way with his blade and continued straight forward. He then suddenly flash stepped, disappearing and then reappearing directly in front of Yama.

"Got him," Matsuo thought to himself, aiming to slice away the two wrist bows.

Then Yama suddenly vanished. Matsuo's blade swung through air. Quickly skidding to a stop a few feet from where Yama had been standing, he looked around quickly. Looking up, Yama had appeared directly above him with his bow formed and a large bolt drawn back. A blue glare shone off of his goggles as the light from his bow reflected back down at Matsuo, and his smile didn't fade when he let the bolt fly. It shot straight down, but Matsuo managed to flash step out of the way. The bolt struck the ground, causing dust and rubble to fly up from the ground in a small explosion.

Lighting down on a rooftop, Yama adjusted his goggles on his face, his smile still remaining. Matsuo appeared on a rooftop opposite him, leering at Yama and taking in a deep breath.

"You think you're the only one who can move that fast?" Yama asked with a slight laugh. "Don't tell me you've never seen someone use Hirenkyaku before?"

"I honestly didn't think you were so advanced," Matsuo confessed. "I underestimated you."

"It would be wise not to do so again," Yama said, adjusting his goggles again.

As he spoke, three Hollows tried to strike at him from behind. Using Hirenkyaku, Yama teleported out of the way and reappeared to the right of all three, bow drawn. He fired a single straight bolt through all three Hollows, eliminating them all simultaneously.

Matsuo quickly turned to see four Hollows coming right for him, and leaped into the air.

"Darken heaven!" he called out, bringing his Zanpakuto behind him. With a bright flash of golden light, Nisshoku took on its second form, the windmill shuriken with a gold chain and black kunai.

"Nisshoku!"

With that cry, he hurled Nisshoku toward the four Hollows, striking two down with his first throw, and catching the other two off guard by slicing through them on the recoil. Right as Nisshoku was about to return to Matsuo's hands, Yama appeared directly behind him, firing a bolt from his bow. Matsuo managed to grab ahold of Nisshoku and swing it back and deflect the bolt, but by that time Yama had vanished again. He reappeared again directly left of Matsuo, firing multiple bolts from his wrist bows. Matsuo flash stepped out of the way, appearing a distance away from Yama and hurling Nisshoku toward him in retaliation.

"Taiyō en!" Matsuo called out. Nisshoku's speed picked up as gold reiatsu surrounded the spinning blades, and it rushed toward Yama with breathtaking haste. Yama teleported out of the way, but Matsuo anticipated this, and yanked the chain to cause Nisshoku to change direction on the recoil. Yama reappeared directly in the shuriken's path and barely managed to dodge out of the way. As Nisshoku continued down its path, it struck down another Hollow as it returned to Matsuo's hand.

The conflict continued like this for quite some time, Matsuo and Yama retaliating to each other's attacks while simultaneously guarding themselves from oncoming Hollows and returning to the battle between them. Flurries of bolts and arrows flew through the air, and Matsuo continued his style of throw and recoil. Still more Hollows continued to pour out from their portals, focusing the blunt of their force on the two opposing forces of spiritual prowess that clashed in the air above the city.

Meanwhile, the other Shinigami were busy keeping the populace of the city safe from harm. Each were taking on singular Hollows that weren't getting caught up in the midair fight but instead chose to focus on the innocent people and souls that inhabited the surrounding city. Shigehito primarily focused on any Hollows still remaining in the air; his spiritual presence would be too much for most people to endure on the streets below. Instead, Masato, Ryuuhei, and Michiyo all focused on defending the city streets. Luckily, the majority of the Hollows were focused on the epicenter of the conflict, with few reaching outside the bounds of a small area of the city.

Michiyo rushed through the streets, cutting down Hollows left and right. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a lone girl about to be attacked by two Hollows. She wasn't aware that they were nearby; she must be human. Skidding to a halt, she rushed straight down the road towards the two Hollows. Both of them looked up at the scent of a more appetizing spirit. As they looked up, Michiyo slashed through both of their necks, decapitating both Hollows in one sweep. Lighting down on the sidewalk, she breathed heavily. The combat was no problem, but the rushing around trying to kill them all was proving troublesome. Realizing she'd need more than just herself to take on this task, she took a basic battle-ready pose, holding her Zanpakuto's blade at a forty-five degree angle from herself.

"Split the seams of reality!" she called out.

Her Zanpakuto glowed with green reiatsu, and the hilt and guard grew in size. Then, with a rush of reiatsu up the blade, the blade grew into a large broadsword that was silver and mirror smooth on one side, and black on the other. A crescent shape curled from the black side of the blade onto the base of the silver side.

"Doppelganger!"

With a blast of reiatsu that sent a small shockwave through the air, she rushed onward and cut down five Hollows in a row. As she continued onward, two Hollows tried to flank her from either side. Michiyo suddenly split the broadsword straight down the middle; it became two blades, one black, and one silver. Sweeping both blades up on either side of her, she sliced straight up through both Hollow's masks at once. Lighting down on the street below, she kept her two blades separated. Looking up, she took a moment to see how Matsuo was faring.

"Matsuo, I hope you know what you're doing," she said.

A Hollow rushed at her from behind. Without even looking, she raised the silver blade in her right hand and stabbed right through the Hollow's mask. It vanished a moment later as it collapsed.

"We may be in trouble if these Hollows don't start letting up soon. It could prove to be too much for us."

END EPISODE 6

**おわり**


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